Field-fence



T. HOGE.

' Fence.

- Pater ited.iJune 15, 1,858.

UNITED STATES l@TE'T OFFQ THOS. HOGE, OF WVAYNESBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

FIELD-FENCE.

b all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS Hoen, of VVaynesburg, in the count-y of Greene and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Portable Farm-Fence; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being .made to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portable farm fence constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a front view or elevation of a single panel. Fig. 3 is a top view of a panel with the cap-board removed, showing the position of the battens. Figs. 4: and 5 represent cross sections of the fence, showing the manner of supporting and bracing the fence.

Similar letters of reference in each of the figures indicate corresponding parts.

My invention is intended for all the purposes to which fences are generally applied, and consists in, First, a new mode of constructing the panels by using a series of battens in each panel with their thin edges, in stead of their flat faces, turned to the rails, and with a thin board turned edgewise atboth top and bottom so as to give much greater strength to the panels when made of light material and so that the'rails may be very narrow and still have as much strength as wide boards or rails, when used in the common mode. Second, a new mode of bracing the fence with a single brace attached to a chair with a movable pin and with a series of holes in its upper end with an adjustable pin, so as to vary the length of the brace to suit various situations. Third, a round hole or mortise through the-sill or chair and passing the projecting ends of the bottom boards of the panels through this hole, which hole allows them to turn in it, or allows one end of said sill to be raised up to suit any inclination or steepness of ground. Fourth, placing the batten at one end of the panel slightly inclined or diagonal, so as to bring the two end battens close together at the top while at the bottom it is far enough back to allow the bottom board of the next panel to be hinged on and the two pins still be in a perpendicular line, though on opposite sides of said batten.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation more minutely.

Figure 1 in the accompanying drawing represents a perspective view of three panels of the fence, two of which are standing in a straight line while the third is turned at right angles thereto. The panels may be any length desired, as twelve feet. The thin narrow boards, I) and b, are nailed to a series of battens, c, 0, 0, 0, c, c, placed in an upright position with their thin edges against the rails, 41, as shown in Fig. 3 and the several other figures, and thus form a kind of frame to which the narrow slats or rails, a, are nailed, by which the rails, a, need not be more than from about one to two inches in width, the battens being placed near enough to give the required strength to said rails, and thus I am enabled to make a fence of equal strength but with much less material than is required by other plans of fencing. The projecting of the boards, I), I), pass through a round hole in the shoe or chair, f, one resting upon the other as shown in the figures.

To one end of the chair, f, is attached a brace, (Z, by a pin, m, while the other end passes up between the ends of the panels, and has a series of holes in its upper end, through one of which and also through corresponding holes in one or both of the battens, c, 0, a pin, 1, passes, which keeps the fence firmly 1n an upright position. The hole in the chair, 7, being round and large enough to admit both of the projecting ends of the boards, Z), 6, allows one end of the chair, f, to be raised up and occupy the various positions shown in Figs. 4 and 5, while the panels remain in a vertical position as shown, and by simply passing the pin, a, through the proper holes in the battens, c, c, and brace, (Z, the fence is held firmly in the position to suit any degree of steepness of ground. The brace, 65, and chair, f, may be left out and the panels will then turn freely on the hinge connection formed by the pins, 7' and r, passing through the ends of the boards, 6 and Z), and on opposite sides of the inclined batten, c, as before mentioned, and the panel may be turned around either way and set at any angle and form a corner as-shown in Fig. 1; or the fence may be put up in polygonal pens for inclosing stock, animals, etc.

By having a series of holes in the projecting end of the cap-board, b, as shown in Fig.

1, and putting the pin, 1', nearer the end of said board, 5, the opposite ends of the panels are depressed and fit on a rounding place; or by drawing them slightly apart at the bottom the opposite ends of the panels are raised and suit a hollow place in the ground. One of the battens, 0, is leaned so as to bring the battens close together at the top while at the bottom they are far enough apart to allow the next panel to be hinged on as shown in the figures, which allows the panels to be the same width or height throughout and forms a hinge-connection without being halved together and allows the panels to move freely on said hinges and occupy the various positions described and shown in the figures,

I do not claim forming a hinge joint as being new, as that has been done before, though different from mine, neither do I claim the use of the brace, or any other part, in any form in which it has been known or used; but- I claim I claim the round hole or mortise through the sill or chair, f, with the projecting ends of the boards, 6, Z), passing through said hole or mortise, and the adjustable brace, cl, with a hole or series of holes in its upper end, and the battens, 0, arranged as described, 30 for the purposes set forth.

THOMAS HOGE.

l/Vitnesses:

JOHN S. HOLLINGSI-IEAD, W. O. LINDSEY. 

